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July 29, 2002, Chandigarh, India
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Counterfeit revenue stamps worth Rs 2 crore seized Chandigarh, July 28 Three members of the gang, Gopi Nath Nayyar, Sahil and Sanjay, were arrested and other two members, who were accompanying them, escaped when the raiding parties reached Makhan Majra village to arrest them. They were putting up in a private hotel in Darua village near here. HIGHLIGHTS
The clients of the company, Quick Services, included insurance companies and other private institutions in Chandigarh other cities of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The entire operation of selling the stamps was being run by Karim Bahi, who had been arrested by the Pune police about 15 days back in a similar case. Sources in the Chandigarh Police said fake stamps, valued at least Rs 700 crore, had been recovered from him by the Maharashtra Police. A contact man of Karim, Asif, used to be the liaison man while exchanging money in lieu of the stamps. The police was conducting more raids to arrest Rajesh and Sachin, both hailing from Maharashtra. Both of them used go to Delhi to collect the stamps. The Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr Parag Jain, said the gang was causing huge losses to the state exchequer by pumping fake stamps in the market. Insurance stamps up to denominations of Rs 1000 crore and postal and revenue stamps of denominations as low as Rs 5 had been recovered from them. The modus operandi of the company was to show a fake vendor licence to their customers. The money was accepted in form of cheques and a local contact, Harmesh, a resident of Maloya, who had opened a account in Sector 8 branch of Corporation Bank, used to deposit the cheques and withdraw the money. The company was also running a office in Ludhiana. The DSP, East, Mr Surjit Singh, said the most of the members were living in Delhi but had taken rented accommodation in the city. Police teams were conducting more raids at the residences of the youths to make more seizures. He said the entire operations were being carried out by the SHO of Industrial Area Police Station, Mr Shiv Raj Sidhu, Inspector Jagbir and Inspector Satbir. According to the information, the gang members had come from Delhi in a hired Tata Safari ( DL 1Z 1308). When the raid was conducted, the fake stamps were being brought here in a auto-rickshaw. A case under Sections 258, 259, 260, 420, 467, 468, 474, 473 and 120 B of the IPC has been registered.
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Central
excise raids on pharmaceutical co. Chandigarh, July 28 The officials have also seized a truck at Transport Nagar which was illegally carrying company's material to Mumbai. Officials have reportedly unearthed a major bungling in import and excise duty worth crores of rupees by the company. According to information available, the raids started on the evening of July 26 and continued till late night on Saturday. Teams, led by Mr Sailesh Sharma, Deputy Commissioner, (preventive) Excise and Customs Department, reportedly seized a consignment of raw material for bulk-drug manufacturing which was being sent to a Mumbai-based firm illegally. Sources in the department said the pharmaceutical company had four units of bulk drug manufacturing units at Banur, Panchkula and Baddi and had an annual turnover of about Rs 150
crore. It had a licence from the Director General Foreign Trade, to import duty-free raw material for bulk-drug manufacturing for exports. However, it
illegally dumped a large portion of their material in the domestic market, thus saving 30 per cent import duty and 16 per cent excise duty on final product in addition to the surcharge. When contacted, Mr Sailesh Sharma said details about the raids would be provided by the head office on Monday. However, some other officials disclosed that the Managing Director of the company had admitted tax evasion and agreed to pay the penalty. They said that consignment worth Rs 7 lakh, which would involve Rs 4
lakh penalty, had been attached. The company had imported this material from Germany and was supplying it to the Mumbai-based firm even though it were banned to do so.
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Banks
can take possession of secured assets Chandigarh, July 28 The management committee of the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, for example, has issued instructions to all its zonal and regional managers to commence immediately recovery under the ordinance promulgated some time ago. According to the list of bank loan defaulters (above Rs 1 crore) released by the All-India Bank Employees Association on July 13 as a part of its countrywide campaign to create public awareness about the country’s powerful elements who have cornered resources of the nation by way of unpaid bank loans, the total number of defaulting accounts of the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur as on March 31, 2001, were 107 involving unpaid loans totalling Rs 579.63 crore. As a sequel to the countrywide campaign of the bank employees, some bank managements have decided to act on the ordinance. On July 20 when the Indian Banks Association called a meeting, which was attended, among others, by officials of the RBI the process of implementation of the provisions of the ordinance was discussed threadbare by senior legal and recovery officials of all public sector and other banks. The management committee of State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur — which has two major group defaulters in Punjab — decided that all those who failed to respond to various earlier schemes and opportunities such as the OTS (one-time settlement) scheme of the RBI, and the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur should now be proceeded against under the latest ordinance. According to the ordinance, the banks, after giving 60 days’ notice, can take possession of the secured assets of such NPA borrowers, without intervention of any court or tribunal and sell them to recover their bad loans. The banks are also empowered to take over the management of the businesses of such borrowers and appoint other managements to run the same. The major State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur defaulters in Punjab and Chandigarh are Shivalik Loha Mills and Shivalik Wala Steel Mills, both from Ludhiana, against whom the outstanding amount as on March 31 last year was Rs 10.77 cr. Another major defaulter has been Shri Bhawani Cotton Mills of Abohar, which on March 31, 2001, owed Rs 5.12 cr to the bank.
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BOTTOMLINE SAS Nagar, July 28 The Municipal Council which was expecting to get this land at a nominal price keeping in view its use, has been asked to pay the price of the land which amounts to 5 per cent of the total annual budget the government has passed for the council for the current financial year. The MC had in November last year asked PUDA to demarcate land which can be used by the council as cattle pound. The two-acre land on the outskirts of the township was demarcated by PUDA on the recommendation of the council and according to sources in the council, a token sum of Rs 1 lakh was also paid by the council to PUDA. It was apparently also decided that PUDA would charge only nominal rates from the council since the land was to be used for a public cause. However, PUDA wrote to the council last month that it would charge Rs 1746 per square yard according to the current selling price of the land in that area and the total cost of the land would come to Rs 1.7 crore. Sources also state that the matter has now been taken up by the president of the council, Mr Kulwant Singh with the Additional Chief Administrator, PUDA, Mr Yashvir Mahajan, convincing him that the land is to be used for public cause and the council is in no position to pay such a large amount. According to sources, PUDA is considering selling the land to the council for its acquisition cost which amounts to Rs 12 lakh an acre. Mr Yashvir Mahajan said, ‘‘The cattle pound will cost the MC something like Rs 25 lakh and I think that is fair. But certainly this is the minimum that we can offer them.’’ However, MC officials are not sure whether the new offer is also acceptable to them or not. ‘‘We were told that they are charging Rs 12 lakh for the whole land but now it is 25 lakh and we will have to think twice before we decide to buy this land,’’
says an MC official. In any case, it is too early for the MC to decide between the two rates as the decision to lower the price of land from Rs 1.7 crore to Rs 25 lakh is still pending to be okayed by the PUDA headquarters. |
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Allottee
feels cheated by HUDA Chandigarh, July 28 Mrs Varma was allotted plot number 275 in Sector 2 of Faridabad in November, 1998. HUDA had promised to deliver possession of the plots to her and other allottees within three years of the allotment. The promise, she says, was made in para nine of the brochure. She says HUDA also wrote in para 10 of the brochure-cum-application form that if the possession of the plot was delayed, an allottee could seek refund of the amount paid to HUDA without interest. Nowhere was it mentioned that HUDA would deduct any amount while refunding the payment made by an allottee. However, no interest was to be paid by HUDA to the allottee. When Mrs Varma was not offered the possession of her plot within the stipulated period, she sought refund of her money from HUDA. The Estate Officer, HUDA, Faridabad, refunded the amount to Mrs Varma after deducting 10 per cent of the total consideration of the plot. She alleges that HUDA does not adhere to the terms stated in its own brochure. However, sources in HUDA deny that any fraud has been committed on Mrs Varma. They say para 10 of the brochure is applicable only if the possession of a plot is delayed because of the area in which the plot falls is under any litigation and HUDA is unable to develop that area because of this. In all other cases, the refund is made to an allottee only after deducting of 10 per cent of the total consideration of the plot. |
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City schools, offices closed Chandigarh, July 28 The president of the Independent Schools Association, Mr DS Bedi, said that all private schools would also remain closed and unit tests scheduled for July 29 would now be held on July 30. The PU has also declared a holiday tomorrow though meetings and counselling would be held as per schedule. However, admissions to the Panjab Engineering College will continue as per schedule. |
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After the cholera outbreak in Chandigarh it was a phone call from the United Kingdom, which spurred the bureaucracy into action. No it is not that the administration has started taking orders from Tony Blair and co. It was just that the UT Administrator, Lieut- Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd), was on a private visit to the UK. It was he who thundered over the phone asking senior officials if they had visited the spot of the cholera outbreak or not. Within a few minutes a team of officials stepped into their airconditioned cars and whizzed to the spot. The call came after the General watched the situation for more than 48 hours. So how did the General know that no one had gone to the spot? It so happened that he was said to be reading The Tribune over the Internet. And only The Tribune offers its local pullout sections on the net. So the Guv had information about what was happening while the officials had thought that the General would not be in the know of things. Now what officials fear the most is the wrath of the General when he joins back. Excuses are being prepared by the officials on how it was the fault of area residents that they had built toilets over water supply lines thus causing a Cholera outbreak. Only time will tell the Guv takes the excuse. As is his wont, he will not spare the guilty. Besides cholera, officers of the administration will also have a lot of explaining to do in front of General Jacob as to how they forgot to observe Vijay Divas, which marks the victory celebrations in Kargil, on July 26. In 2000 and 2001 there had been detailed observation of the day with even an “ at home” for the soldiers at Raj Bhavan. Already, the local media has highlighted how Vijay Divas was overlooked. It will be difficult for the General to overlook the lapse, especially when it concerns the armed forces. Effect of announcement Recently, Ms Vini Mahajan, Director, Investment, Punjab, and Mr Mukul Joshi, Principal Secretary, Department of Industries, had gone to Mumbai to attend an Investors’ Meet organised by the HSBC. Mr Joshi made an announcement there that the state government had plans to initiate the process of disinvestment in Punjab Tractors, Punjab Alkalies and Punjab Communications, within a week. They were surprised when the share market reacted immediately as the market price of shares of these blue-chip companies rose sharply. Later, officials said that they had not expected such a positive response from the market. Perhaps it was the impact of announcement made in financial capital of India. It could never had been gained by calling a press conference in Chandigarh or even in Delhi.
Remote sympathy BJP here seems to have faith in remote sympathy. It chose to issue a press note against its rival Congress for the spread of cholera in Sector 52 colony instead of visiting the affected. The city’s rehabilitation colony was hit by cholera with 1800 people being attended to by doctors and few confirmed cases of cholera. In fact, the BJP unit here seemed to be celebrating the elevation of former local MP and senior leader Satyapal Jain as national executive member and given the responsibility of in charge of Uttaranchal affairs. Failing to react immediately to the incident, the local unit issued a press note saying the party President, Mr Yashpal Mahajan, and Mr Jain wanted an inquiry against the Congress Mayor, Ms Lalit Joshi, for the failure to handle the situation. By then Congress members had already reached the spot.
The Samajwadi Party was the first to react to the cholera spread in the city by demanding the fixing of responsibility for contamination of water in a rehabilitation colony. But its initiative brought brickbats from the Congress which came under attack primarily for being in power in the Municipal Corporation. All 13 councillors of the Congress sent an aggressive press note terming the Samajwadi Party and the Janata Party as ‘’paper tigers’’ instead of focussing on the allegations. The councillors, however, defended the local MP, Mr Pawan Bansal, and the Mayor, Ms Lalit Joshi, for their efforts to contain the disease.
A toss-up The election of Mr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam as President might have brought cheers to over a billion people of the country but has put a club in dilemma. The Chandigarh Bachelors’ Club is in a fix as to whom it should make its patron — the Prime Minister or the President. The club had offered the Prime Minister its patronship two years back but Mr Vajpayee neither turned down the offer nor accepted it. With another most suitable bachelor occupying the post of President, the club has now made its offer to President Kalam. But the organisation, to be fair to both eligible candidates, has said that the matter would now be decided by toss of the coin. The club has also urged the President to celebrate July 25 as Bachelors’ Day.
Taj on tender rates The beauty of the Taj in Agra fascinated a German company executive but also made him realise the Taj construction may not have gone through the tendering process. The executive of the Mentz rescue operation equipment manufacturers showed a photograph of the Taj to a local official. But the photo had an interesting caption: “The Taj would not have been so beautiful had it gone through lowest rate tendering process”. The German executive might have been cut up with Indian sensitivity towards price at the cost of quality. The equipment of the company is considered to be costly.
Prem Raj Kaushik Prem Raj Kaushik, a 1966 batch retired IAS official of the Haryana cadre, passed away a few days ago in his Gurgaon home. The soft-spoken Kaushik, a short service commission Army officer, was known for his work in Haryana. He rose to the rank of Financial Commissioner Revenue and had retired about a year ago. His juniors serving in the Haryana Government in Chandigarh remember him as a very good officer. He had fallen ill about two years before his retirement and suffered from the fatal motor neuron disease. Kaushik also had a sporting connection. He is the brother of ace hockey coach M.R. Kaushik.
Gujarat vs Uttaranchal Local politics and its rivalries have gone beyond the UT boundaries with both the Congress and the BJP giving their top leaders here national responsibilities. The local MP and All India Congress Committee Secretary Pawan Bansal was made an observer for Gujarat affairs. The BJP only a day after made the former BJP MP Satyapal Jain member of the national executive and in-charge of the Uttaranchal affairs. The local leaders seemed to have been placed on an equal footing for them to take on each other in the next Lok Sabha elections.
Nobody’s baby An official release claimed the Mayor, Ms Lalit Joshi, informed the Second Delhi Finance Commission that the property tax in the city had been imposed and it would be extended to houses. The Mayor when she came to know about the release immediately pointed out to officials that she had not said what was attributed to her. The Chandigarh Administration later withdrew the release which nobody was ready to own responsibility for.
Incentives Some of public relation companies in the city have mastered the art of ensuring good press coverage for their clients. Recently a press conference was organised by Bank of Punjab to announce its tieup with Western Union Financial Services to provide money transfer services to its clients. The PR agency devised a novel method to provide “incentives” to the mediapersons by putting gift vouchers worth Rs 501 in each folder given to them with press releases, and lavish gifts later on. To ensure the “participation” of journalists, they were asked to put in their visiting cards in a bowl. A lucky card was later drawn out of these, to announce a lucky winner, who was offered a sum of about Rs 2,500 through money transfer demonstration.
No pink city this! Ace compere Pallab Bose was in town last week to conduct the annual fashion show organised by the National Institute of Fashion Design. As he began his narration explaining the characteristics of Chandigarh, its beautiful architecture, open spaces and landscape, he almost instantly established a rapport with the crowd. Everyone listened to him with rapt attention, praising him for his thorough diction and clear speech. But just as the narration was about to end and the first round of modelling was about to take off, Pallab Bose, wound up saying: “Welcome to the beautiful show in this pink city!” The attentive audience was left smiling over the goofup. Many among the gathering were overheard saying: “He perhaps narrated the same speech in Jaipur.”
Parking blues There was a major scene at the parking of Sector 17 commercial area the other day. Involved in a verbal war of sorts was a government official and an employee of the parking lot contractor, who insisted upon the former to make the payment of Rs 5 in order to gain entry into the market. However, the official, who was stuck up over the issue, kept saying, “How did you allow two of your friends on a scooter to pass by without paying for the parking ticket?” He said that he would not pay until the employee recalled those two boys and charged them the same amount as he was charging others. Despite heated argument, the employee did not budge. Finally, the officer, who was first ready to pay, took out a Municipal Corporation’s free parking pass and handed it over to the contractor standing at the entry point. He also warned the contractor in this regard, saying: “Although I had a pass I was ready to pay because five rupees would make no difference. But now I must exercise my authority and tell you that I am working with the MC which has allotted the contract to you. If I want, I can lodge a complaint against you and get your contract cancelled.” Left with no choice, the contractor began apologising. And sad as it may sound, it was only after he was threatened that he called back the two boys in question and made them purchase the parking ticket!
Cheap art Thanks to the availability of free gallery space, even those who have no idea of art have become artists. No wonder anyone and everyone is now exhibiting works, which do not always qualify as art. Coupled with an easy access to galleries is the easy accessibility to media. Due to rising competition among the various newspapers published from Chandigarh, many people stand to gain undue advantage. Only recently a certain exhibition of paintings was thrown open at an art gallery in Sector 8. The group show, which featured works by five people, was inaugurated by a reputed film artiste from the city. However, the works being shown appeared like scribbling of children still learning how to draw or paint. Where good shows of art are welcome, any such shows which make a mockery of the aesthetics of art need to be checked. May be the galleries could set up some rules whereby the collection, desired to be exhibited, is first scanned to ensure quality. —Sentinel |
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Houses ill-designed, say residents Chandigarh, July 28 The Chief Engineers of the Housing Board and the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh would now go into this aspect, sources told Chandigarh Tribune here today. The committee has been set up in the wake of complaints from residents of resettlement colonies and slums that their houses and colonies as designed are violative of ‘’human rights’’ and are not at all designed to live healthily and safely. The Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh carried out a major demolition drive in Sector 52 Resettlement Colony removing low walls erected between the road and houses a month ago. The residents of the colonies said the walls had to be erected as there was very small gap between the road and houses exposing children to the danger of accidents. Manholes in the colonies were found to be a potential source of trouble as there was intermingling of lines at the same point at different levels of height. This could be dangerous in the case of a leakage, the sources said. The residents also complained that toilets were made outside the one-room tenements as kitchens and toilets were closely situated creating unhygienic conditions in the houses. They also said with the water supply remaining low for years in certain colonies, residents did not have enough water to properly flush toilets after defecation, giving rise to smell and unhygienic conditions. This situation seemed to have forced certain people to build toilets outside. The residents said with toilets getting blocked off and on inside small houses, the best option was to build these outside the houses. The residents also brought it to the notice of authorities that there were a large number of electricity poles only a couple of feet away from houses. If the height of the houses was increased there was a possibility that a child on the first or second floor could touch live electric wires. The Municipal Corporation finds it difficult to increase the water supply at this point because of financial implications. The corporation sources said it would immediately require around Rs 3 crore to set up boosters at around 150 stand-alone tubewells in colonies and other places in the city.
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Professionals
resent govt move Chandigarh, July 28 Welcoming the government initiative in cleaning the state administration of all “tainted employees”, these organisations held that there was no justification for punishing the entire batch of recruits in case one or two such batches have entered service either “bribe” or “sifarish”. While the coordination committee of the Professional Services Association decided to launch a state-level agitation to impress upon the government not to follow a blanket approach by sacking all officers of the selected batches but instead taking action only against the suspected ones, the Subdivisional Engineers Association decided to start a protest march from the Sector 16 Zakir Rose Garden on July 30 to press its demand for detailed investigation into each case than removing the entire batch. |
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20 selected for youth
awards Chandigarh, July 28 The said contests, to be held in the various categories of art, dance, song and other performing art schedules, are being organised under the single title of Youth Achievements Awards. More emphasis, however, will be on the disciplines of acting and dance. |
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Handicapped
Day observed SAS Nagar, July 28 The district president of the samithi said every year the organisation celebrates Global Handicapped Day with the home inmates. “Various members of the organisation are regular visitors to the home to help these ex-servicemen. Besides this, the organisation is engaged in activities in the fields of service, education and spirituality,” said Mr G.K. Uppal, convener of the organisation. |
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Youth crushed to death Panchkula, July 28 The youth was riding a scooter when he was run over by a vehicle which fled.
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Police fails to nab undertrial Three policemen of the Bathinda police had accompanied the escapee, along with another murder accused to the PGI for their medical examination. Naginder Singh, who runs seven colleges of medical studies, was booked in two cases of cheating. Sources in the police said a hue and cry notice had been issued in the neighbouring states of Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. A case against the undertrial and the three policemen of the Punjab police, head constable Jaswant Singh and constables, Sukhwinder and Major Singh, has been registered at the Sector 11 Police Station. Efforts to track down the undertrial, who owns a house in Sector 35, here, proved futile. A police official said family members of Naginder Singh said he was mentally unstable. On July 20, when the policemen were busy in getting CT scan of the other undertrial, Rajesh Kumar, done at the PGI, Naginder Singh, on the pretext of going to the laboratory, escaped. |
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Youth crushed to death in Chandi Mandir Panchkula, July 28 Four burglaries: Goods worth thousands of rupees were stolen from the Sector 25 house of Mr Rajesh Kumar on July 23. A stereo, silver coins, a pair of anklet and other jewellery items were stolen from his house. In another case of burglary, a house in Sector 15 was broken into when the owners of the house were away to Chandigarh. The goods stolen have not been ascertained as yet. Mr Rakesh Singh’s house in Sector 4 was burgled between July 19 and July 27, while the owners were away. Two cases of fraud: In another case, Mr Chand Kapoor has been accused of cheating Mr Manmohan Singh of Rs 3,000 n 1996, during a business association. A case under Section 415, 416 and 417 of IPC has been registered. Chandigarh Chain snatched: Theft cases: In the third case, three telephone sets and a stethoscope were stolen from the dispensary of Panjab University on the night intervening July 26 and 27. The burglars broke in to the dispensary after cutting the iron grills of window. A case has been registered on a complaint by the CMO of the dispensary, Progya Kumar. In another case, Rajinder Saxena, a resident of Sector 45, said one gold chain, three gold rings, two gold sets, an ear-ring, one mangal sutra, one wrist watch and Rs 3,000 cash were stolen from his residence on July 27. A case has been registered at the Sector 34 Police Station under Sections 380 and 457 of the IPC. Thieves reportedly broke into a room of Mr Rakesh Sharma in Boys Hostel No 3, Panjab University, and took away with them a mobile phone, a stereo system, a leather jacket and Rs 12,000 on the night of July 26. Mr Kapoor Singh of Factory No. 706, Industrial Area, Phase I, told the police that one of his worker, Parkash Chand Sharma has stolen parts of air conditioners on July 7. Maruti car (CH 03 F 3036) of Mr B.K Wahi, a resident of Panchkula, was reportedly stolen from a Sector 22 market here on Friday. Three cases of theft have been registered in different police stations. Three injured: In another case, Raj Kumar, an employee at Sood Dharamshala in Sector 22, received injuries on his left arm while operating a grinder. He was admitted to the PGI. Beaten up: Dera Bassi SAS Nagar
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One killed in mishap Chandigarh, July 28 The vehicle after hitting the rotary climbed on the traffic island before coming to stop. The vehicle (CH 01 Z 9999) was severely damaged and the victim’s body had to be pulled out after cutting the roof of the ill-fated vehicle. The victim was reportedly talking on a mobile. |
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Chandigarh, July 28